Sky Ranch Sanctuary

A Horse Rescue Organization

Welcome Bronco!

BroncoIn early September I received a call from my vet asking if we’d be willing to take a horse belonging to a client. The owner had purchased Bronco for her daughter, but her daughter decided she wasn’t interested in riding. When x-rays revealed the horse had navicular disease (degeneration of the navicular bone in the foot), the owner didn’t feel comfortable selling him to someone else. She wanted to find a good retirement home for him.

We decided to take a chance on Bronco, a handsome 8-year-old buckskin gelding Quarter Horse. Our four-stall barn is full, so Bronco was to be situated in the covered arena a few feet from the barn until he could go out in the pasture with the other horses during the day. We quarantined Bronco for a couple of weeks for the safety of the other horses. He settled in somewhat, and then the day arrived to put him out in the pasture with the others, with a gate separating him at the start.

Well, it was a rocky start. Someone apparently forgot to tell Bronco he is not a stallion! He ran and kicked, and when the others came up to the fence to greet him, he acted very aggressively toward both mares and geldings. There was lots of squealing and posturing, and this went on for hours! Bronco even kicked in part of a wooden shelter in the pasture. No one was anxious to pull him out of there till things settled down. He finally wore himself out by 4 p.m. and let himself be led back into the arena.

Our vet ran blood tests to make sure Bronco had been completely gelded (no stallion “parts” left). The blood test confirmed he is a gelding, and we needed to decide what to do. He clearly wanted to be with the other horses, but it was dangerous for him, them and us to mix them up, even with a fence between. We did not want to ask the owner to take him back. We wanted to solve the problem.

We are strong believers that horses should be with other horses if at all possible. It’s in accord with their nature. However, we have to put safety first, so at least for the foreseeable future, Bronco will stay in the arena. The other horses go out to the pasture during the day, but are in the barn, just a few feet away from him, from dinner time to morning turnout. We have a family business, as well as our home, on the property, and the arena is in the middle of everything. People walk by often throughout the day, and Bronco gets lots of attention. He’s very sweet with people. My vet assured me he can have a good life here and certainly better than an uncertain future elsewhere.

Our horses’ physical and mental well-being are our passion here at Sky Ranch. Taking care of these marvellous creatures requires effort and of course funds.  We are grateful for any help you can provide through donations. Thank you in advance, and enjoy autumn.

All of our horses at Sky Ranch Sanctuary, like Bronco, receive special medications, supplements, and treatments for their unique needs.  Your continued generosity supports these efforts alongside the tireless work of our volunteers.

Chloe

 

She’s gained 60+ lbs since this photo was taken in July!

In July, we welcomed Chloe as a new resident at the sanctuary. Chloe is a petite, senior Arabian mare and was living in untenable conditions. When sanctuary staff and our vet visited the place where she was living, she was emaciated and covered with flies. For a number of reasons, her owners were unable to provide humane care for her, and when they needed to move they called us to see if we could take any or all of the three horses on the property. Our vet concluded that Chloe was the horse that could best be served by our sanctuary.

Our first step was to clean her up and apply fly spray, and the next step was to take care of her teeth. Due to years of neglect, her teeth are not in great shape, and she can’t chew hay. She has been doing well on senior feed and hay cubes and has put on 60 plus pounds to date. We believe she can benefit from chiropractic care and acupuncture , and we are in the process of setting up those treatments.

She is out in the pasture with the other horses now, but it has taken her some time to adjust. (Goldie, our Palomino beauty, has taken Chloe under her wing and looks after her.) Chloe was in a small pen for many years, and she is having to learn how to deal with all the space she has! She’s a sweet horse to handle, and we love having her here with us.

Goldie

 

A few weeks ago, Goldie, a beautiful palomino mare, came to live at Sky Ranch Sanctuary.

Goldie’s owner was conscientious and took good care of Goldie but was finding her more and more difficult to ride. Goldie would become very anxious being separated from other horses and would not listen to her rider. Her owner hired a trainer, but things just kept going downhill and her owner was becoming as anxious as Goldie. Our Sanctuary vet happened to be Goldie’s vet also, and when Goldie’s owner told him she was running out of options and did not want to pass Goldie and “her issues” on to another rider, he suggested Sky Ranch might be able provide a safe and caring retirement home for Goldie.

Fortunately, we were able to say yes! After a few weeks, Goldie is happily out in the pasture with the other horses. She still demonstrates some anxiety when asked to go anywhere or in any direction she feels might separate her from the other horses. Our horses are here to retire and are not ridden so we are confident with ground work training she will adjust and become more comfortable when the routine varies a bit.

People ask a lot of horses and much of what we ask them to do is not in accord with their nature. For some horses, going along with the “human agenda” is harder than for others. There is no pressure here for a horse to perform. We think with a little time and a building of trust, Goldie will have found the perfect spot for her retirement.

Thankful for Moose

Moose

A  few weeks ago we welcomed a new horse to Sky Ranch. Moose is an 18-year-old Quarter Horse who needed a place to retire. Moose’s owner is relocating to another state and not able to take Moose along. Moose has arthritis in his front feet and retirement is by far the kindest option for his future.

In adding Moose to our sanctuary, we stepped a bit off of our usual path of only taking abused or abandoned horses. Moose was neither. But after meeting Moose and his owner, we felt bringing Moose here was the right thing to do. His future was uncertain, and there aren’t many good options for horses that shouldn’t be ridden.

After only a short time here, Moose elected himself  “chairman of the herd,” and the other horses seem okay with that! My cohort Madeline described him as “sensible,” and we like that in a thousand-pound animal we handle every day!

He’s a tall handsome guy, and we are so glad he has joined us.

We are thankful and wish all of you a Happy and Delicious Thanksgiving.